[SONG META: Genre=R&B diva ballad | BPM=76 | Feel=6/8 slow sway | Key=E major | Mood=capable, tender, surrendered] [INTRO: Emaj9 | G#m7 | Amaj9 | B13 | Rhodes, bass enters bar 5] [Female Voice: close, low, unhurried] Mm, I know how to carry my own weight [VERSE 1: Emaj9 | C#m9 | F#m9 | B13 | rim clicks, soft guitar] I paid the bill before it reached the table Fixed the tap and took the rubbish down Carried every heavy bag upstairs Learned to keep both feet upon the ground Then you find me reaching in my sleep For the steady place your shoulder makes I can hold the whole day in my hands Still want yours around me when it aches [PRE-CHORUS: Amaj9 | G#m7 C#7alt | F#m9 | B13sus B13 | harmony answers] It isn't weakness to let somebody through Strength never meant I had to live without you [CHORUS: Emaj9 | B/D# | C#m9 | G#m7 | Amaj9 | G#m7 C#7alt | F#m9 B13 | Emaj9 | wide stacks] I can and I still need you Both of those things can be true I stand on my own, then I lean into you I can and I still need you Not here to rescue or lead me Just be the place I can breathe freely I choose you, I don't disappear into you I can and I still need you [VERSE 2: Emaj9 | C#m9 | F#m9 | B13 | fuller pocket] You leave the hallway lamp on when I'm working Put the kettle on before I ask Never make a ceremony of it You just see me underneath the task I have worn independence like a medal Till the metal pressed against my chest Now I know receiving is a courage And your arms are somewhere I can rest [PRE-CHORUS: Amaj9 | G#m7 C#7alt | F#m9 | B13sus B13 | rising counterline] It isn't weakness to let somebody through Strength never meant I had to live without you [BRIDGE: Cmaj9 | Bm7 E13 | Amaj9 | Am6 | G#m7 C#7alt | F#m9 B13 | drums drop] [Female Voice: intimate to full belt] Don't make me smaller so you can feel tall Don't make me lonely to prove I need no one at all Meet me as equal, take nothing away And when I ask you to stay—stay [FINAL CHORUS: Emaj9 | B/D# | C#m9 | G#m7 | Amaj9 | G#m7 C#7alt | F#m9 B13 | Emaj9 | octave doubles, earned whistle ad-lib] I can and I still need you Wholehearted, honest and true I stand on my own, then I lean into you I can and I still need you No contradiction between us Love doesn't weaken my freedom I choose you, and I remain fully me too I can and I still need you (Need you, need you—ooh) [OUTRO: Amaj9 | B13 | E6/9 | clean tonic resolution] [Female Voice: soft descending run] I remain me… and I choose you
